Fleeing Food Deserts in order to Seek Nutritional Justice

So, while I was gliding my way through my newsfeed on Facebook a couple of days ago I came across this meme:

Social networking propaganda at its best…

Within seconds of seeing this, I felt the need to respond and in doing so I said…

“It might have something to do with fast food being more readily available and cheaper in the communities that these individuals represent than the lovely farm fresh organic foods that are on nearly every shelf in other more ‘acceptable’ communities. But, that’s just a thought…I mean, I recall a Safeway in the Central District that only sold dented cans and had no produce or bakery section unlike all of the other Safeway stores in Olympia, Yelm, Tumwater etc. This knowledge is readily available if you are aware of the terms food deserts vs. nutritional justice. Thanks for spreading misrepresentation though…” I went on to say, “Let alone, GMO’s are known to assist in the hyper development of younger bodies and exasperating the obesity epidemic that is running rampant in the US. But, I digress.”

Because, I’m a tad adept at what people perceive when they see contrasting images of this nature in the comfort of their (western) homes.

It’s amazing that vast amounts of the US, a land perceived by many as one of the wealthiest countries in the western world has a disproportionate amount of communities that face this rather despondent epidemic. An epidemic that has far reaching consequences; diseases related to poor nutrition, decreasing rates in longevity, rising health care cost associated with obesity and an abundance of individuals requiring assistance in the ever growing population of nursing homes (typically associated with senior citizens). You can learn more about this matter here.

This gentleman further illustrates what takes place in many rural communities that face rising amounts of obesity due to the impending food deserts that they are surrounded by.

A few weeks ago, while I was out running errands this particular podcast rotated it’s way onto my playlist that day and I was immediately captivated by the way Mr. Finley broke it down, when stressing the necessity of gardening…

“Growing your own food is like printing your own money.”…“Gardening is the most therapeutic and defiant act you can do, especially in the inner city. Plus you get strawberries.” –(Ron Finley, Ted Talk: A guerrilla gardner in South Central LA)

It’s when I see things like this that I begin to have some semblance of hope.

Likewise, “No matter if you’re Black, White, whatever we all have to eat in order to survive.” — (Karen Davis, Regional Horticultural Specialist – Lincoln University Cooperative Extension)

Like most of the population if you find yourself renting, but think you’re not capable of becoming an urban farmer here’s a bit of inspiration to foreshadow those doubts.

That said, even though Winter Solstice just elapsed – it’s never too late to start gathering your seeds as you think about what you’re going to sow in the spring…you might even think about ways in which you can contribute to the urban farms in your community, if you’re so inclined.

Thank you Jo. I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed reading my piece and I couldn’t agree with you more, we desperately need to not only take a look at these facts – we must also construct sensible remedies in order to combat these social injustices.